LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Jacksonville held off a comeback-bent Bellarmine University baseball team 16-14 in Atlantic Sun Conference play Saturday at Knights Field.
Bellarmine (1-21, 0-5 ASUN) continuously fought back against Jacksonville (10-12, 4-1) in the contest. The Knights trailed 3-0, 6-3, 12-6, 14-10 and 16-13, and repeatedly responded.
Even after its first two batters were retired in the ninth, Bellarmine didn't fold. Junior right fielder
Jake Agarwal had an infield single, stole second and scored on a single by junior first baseman
Casey Sorg to cut the deficit to 16-14. The Knights then brought the winning run to the plate after senior third baseman
Reed Blaszczyk beat out an infield single, but the Dolphins managed to turn back BU after inducing a game-ending ground out.
Although it was in defeat, Bellarmine's offensive performance was perhaps its best of the year. The Knights set new season highs in runs, hits (18), RBI (12) and doubles (five) while tying a season best with three stolen bases.
Sophomore designated hitter
Brady Morse went 4-for-5 with two RBI for Bellarmine. Agarwal went 3-for-4 while Sorg, Blaszczyk, senior center fielder
Will Aubel, sophomore shortstop
Luke Scales and junior catcher
Matt Flaherty collected two hits apiece.
Bellarmine fell behind 3-0 after the top of the first, but the Knights began establishing a theme for the game by answering with three runs in the bottom half. Blaszczyk got them on the board with an RBI single, and Scales followed with a two-run double.
Jacksonville and Bellarmine again traded three-run innings, this time in the fourth. Sophomore left fielder
Brady Willis cranked an RBI double to center field, and Aubel knotted it at 6-6 with an RBI single.
The inning that did the most harm to Bellarmine was the sixth. The Knights began the frame with an error and couldn't quite make another play or two that would have minimized the damage in what was a six-run inning for Jacksonville.
Despite now facing a 12-6 hole, Bellarmine kept coming. The Knights scored a pair of runs in the bottom of the sixth, and Morse blasted a two-run double down the left-field line in the seventh as BU trimmed the deficit to 12-10.
Jacksonville countered with two runs in the eighth, but Bellarmine pushed back with three runs in the bottom half, the last two on a double by Flaherty to get the Knights within 14-13.
Jacksonville's Jaden Bastian dealt a crushing blow with a pinch-hit, two-run homer in the ninth. Bellarmine mounted another threat in the bottom half, but Bastian's blast accounted for the final differential.
The teams will conclude the series at noon (ET) Sunday.
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